More From Consumer Nation

Spring Is in the Air

There were many crosscurrents as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicked off on Sept. 8 at New York’s Lincoln Center.

The event is always about building buzz in the press about designers’ latest collections, but one piece of news was also buzzing in the tents. British fashion designer John Galliano, who was fired six months ago as the creative director of the fashion house Dior, was found guilty and given a suspended fine for making anti-Semitic remarks by a French court.

The first day’s events also were cut short as designers prepared to celebrate Fashion’s Night Out. In its third year, the event - which was conceived by Vogue’s Anna Wintour - celebrates fashion and shopping, and has grown enormous, with events planned not only in the high fashion boutiques and department stores of New York, but in suburban shopping malls across the U.S.

After a large turnout for Fashion’s Night Out events, designers headed back to the tents to present their spring 2012 collections through Sept. 15.